There's Something About Redheads
by xfilesforever252
Summary: Mulder, Scully, and Skinner are assigned by the VCU to brutal murder case where the killer is after redheads. Set post FTF, UST, V, A
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This story is set around a month after FTF. Let me know what you think and if you want me to continue writing or not. If keep getting positive response then I will post a chapter everyday, so please comment and feel free to give suggestions!**

Skinner stared wearily at the two young agents in front of him. One a small redhead dressed professionally with a black skirt and navy blazer. Her blue eyes bright and the remanent of frost bite still visible on her pale cheeks. It had only been a month since his agents return from Antarctica. He sighed as he looked towards the other agent. Tall and confidence, Mulder favored the right side of his chair, the side closest to Scully. He knew the news he was about to deliver would not go over well.

"Agents now that you are off the X-files the VCU has requested Agent Mulder's assistance on a case."

"Sir-" Scully started but was shut off by Mulder's hand on her arm.

"I won't do it." Mulder said never losing eye contact with Skinner.

"Agent Mulder this is not something I can get you out of. Trust me." Skinner said remembering the rowdy conversation he had early so that morning. "Besides, if you impress them I could try to use that as leverage." Skinner said hating himself for what he was doing to the two agents.

"What's the case." Mulder said crossing his arms over his chest. Skinner tried not to let the nervousness show on his face as he slid the file across the table. Mulder took one look before throwing the file down on the table and bolting from his chair to begin pacing the office.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me?" Mulder shouted at Skinner as Scully picked up the case file. Skinner ignored the death glare from Scully as she stood to go over to Mulder.

"This has got to be some kind of joke!" Mulder exclaimed at whatever look Scully had just given him.

"Mulder, Skinner's right, this could help us get the X-files back." Scully said trying to calm him down.

"Fine!" Mulder shouted slamming his hands down on Skinner's desk as he sat back down. "But Scully's not going."

"Don't be ridiculous, Mulder." Scully said as she sat back down next to him.

"Agent Scully has been requested on this case as well." Skinner said trying to ignore the pained look in Mulder's eyes. Skinner had gone through his own moment of panic at the thought of having to tell Mulder to investigate a serial killer who was after red headed women between the ages of about 20 to 35.

"I don't want her on it." Mulder said not looking at his partner. "They only want her on it so she can play babysitter. To be like Patterson, to keep me from falling off the edge."

"Mulder, I am your partner and I want to help these women. Obviously no one else is getting any progress." Scully said her voice a mix of hurt and anger.

Mulder watched as the two stared at each other before Mulder angrily pushed back his chair and slammed the door on the way out.

"Your flight leaves at 4:38 AM tomorrow morning." Skinner said handing Scully the plane tickets not missing the icy gaze in her eyes.

Skinner was getting ready for bed when he was startled by a knock on his door, and even more surprised to see Mulder standing on the other side.

"Sir may I come in?" Mulder asked obviously straining to keep his voice level.

Skinner stepped back to let him in. "What is Mulder?" Skinner said obviously looking at his watch.

"Scully can't be on this case."

"Mulder I am not going to stand here and listen to this. She is a trained and professional agent and has every right to be on this case." Skinner said obviously annoyed.

"You don't understand." Mulder began, running a hand through his messy hair. "You don't know how I get on these cases."

"Then enlighten me."

"I have to become the killer. I turn into them and- and I can't always control my actions." Mulder finished unable to meet Skinner's eyes.

"What are you saying?" Skinner said eyeing his agent.

"If Scully's coming with me on this then she needs protection." Mulder said looking at Skinner harshly.

"She will be surrounded by plenty of agents I find it highly unlikely that the killer would-"

"From me." Mulder finished his voice low. Skinner stared at Mulder unable to hide his shock.

"Why don't you go read my files from when I was in VCU. Then you can tell me if you think it's a good idea for Scully to be on this case." Mulder growled before slamming Skinners door on his way out.

The next morning Mulder and Scully sat against the hard chairs at the Washington D.C. airport both holding cups of hot coffee.

"Scully I need you to look at something before you decide to get on that plane with me." Mulder said pulling out a file. The thought of Scully seeing him become a killer made him cringe. He couldn't let her go through that. He had almost lost her again a month ago and the thought of putting her back into danger made him sick. Scully grabbed the file and flipped through it. It was Mulder's file listing his actions during his time with the VCU. He had injured multiple other agents when working these cases as well as taken part in some controversial activities.

"Mulder what am I looking at?" Scully asked in confusion.

"When I become the killer I can't control my behavior Scully. Do you see the problem? The killer has a fascination with raping and murdering redheads." He held her icy gaze with his dark one. Scully shivered at what he was implying.

"That's crazy Mulder, you can't say that you would actually DO that…" She trailed off.

"No but I can become violent and take on components of the killer unconsciously. I'm dangerous Scully."

"Mulder, I'm worried about you on this case. We are partners and I will be there for you no matter what. I won't let you go into the darkness alone." She said placing her hand on his arm. At that moment Skinner cleared his throat causing the agents to jump in surprise.

"Skinner?" Mulder asked in disbelief.

"I'm coming with you." Skinner said holding up his boarding pass. "I decided Scully might need a little help keeping you under control."

Mulder gave Skinner a look of thanks as they began boarding the flight.

They all sat on the same row with Mulder by the window, Scully in the middle, and Skinner on the aisle. They spent the first hour going over details of the case before deciding to get some rest before landing. Mulder had continued looking over the file when he felt a weight against his shoulder. Scully had fallen asleep and was leaning slightly against him. It wasn't an unusual behavior for them on flights, but he felt his heart beat a little faster than it usually did during these moments. He couldn't get their near kiss out of his mind, but knew they couldn't cross that line. He did everything he could to make sure that their relationship never went passed that of friends, but the line had been blurry lately. He tried to push those thoughts away as he reached down to brush a strand of hair behind her ear.

I almost lost her, he thought before clenching his jaw and looking up surprised to see Skinner watching him. Mulder awkwardly cleared his throat and looked back down to the case.

"I tried to get you out of this." Skinner said looking at him with, could that be compassion?

"I appreciate it." Mulder said sighing. "I left the VCU for a reason."

"I know." Skinner said glancing at Scully. She looked so small and young while sleeping and could hardly believe someone had let her become an FBI agent.

"How is she doing?" Skinner asked surprising Mulder.

"She's um alright. I mean she's been through a lot lately, she-" Mulder unconsciously glanced at her memories of Antarctica rushing back. "I won't let them get away with what they did to her." He said his voice suddenly so filled with rage that Skinner was taken aback.

"I hope you know that I had an interesting time trying to explain your expense report from your trip to see snow." Skinner said causing Mulder to smirk.

"Goodm give em hell." Mulder said before burying himself back into the case file.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the comments, I love to hear what you all think! Please continue to comment, so I know if you want me to continue this story. I am also always open to suggestions and advice!**

Scully hung up her phone and taped Mulder's shoulder from where he sat in the front seat of the rental car. "Just talked to the Sheriff, he has the latest body at the morgue. They want me to check it out right away."

They had just landed in Arlington, Texas and were driving to their hotel to check in. They pulled up to a dingy motel and gathered their bags.

"I have two rooms reserved for Mulder." Mulder announced as they got to front desk.

"You requested adjoining correct?" The desk clerk asked as she flipped through her book.

"Yes."

Scully couldn't help the slight blush on her face as she realized how that must sound to Skinner. She glanced over at him but he seemed unaffected.

"I also need to book a room. Close to theirs if possible." Skinner said pulling out his ID and credit card. After checking in and dropping off their luggage they headed to the morgue to drop off Scully.

"Where are you going?" Scully asked Mulder as they pulled up to the building.

"I'm going to talk with the county Sheriff. Call me when you finish ok?" Mulder said as she climbed out of the car.

Scully walked up to the morgue and felt a chill run down her spine as she pulled out the latest victims body. Long red hair hung from the young woman's pale face. She took inventory on the woman's body. Long cut marks covered her arms and legs. She was missing fingernails and was covered in what were obviously cigarette burns. Scully paused the tape recorder and took a deep breath. I can do this, she told herself struggling to keep control over her emotions.

"Signs of rape and sexual assault." She said shakily examining the burns to the woman's breasts.

"Cause of death is the knife wound to the jugular." Scully finished the autopsy and carefully removed her gloves before pressing the speed-dial 1 on her phone.

"Mulder it's me." She said into the phone hoping he couldn't notice the trembling in her voice.

"Scully what did you find?"

"Well I saw on the original reports that the victims had been tortured for about 5 days before death but Mulder some of these wounds must have been up to 2 weeks before death. I would like a chance to examine the other 3 bodies."

"Okay, but first we have a briefing with the rest of team. We are on our way to get you, the meeting is in an hour."

Mulder and Scully stood in front of a small room filled with about 25 other FBI agents. Skinner watched from the back of the room praying that Mulder wouldn't cause an uproar. At least not during the first meeting.

"There's 4 dead women and 1 missing." Mulder began standing close to his partner. "The profile so far that we are working off of is a white man between 30 to 40 years old. He has above average intelligence and is unremarkable in appearance. He most likely is reacting out of rage towards a woman he was close with, one with red hair, making it highly likely that he has red hair. Now the original report says these women were tortured for approximately 5 days before death, but Agent Scully did the recent autopsy and thinks-"

Mulder was cut off by a large agent with a thick beard.

"Why the hell is this little girl on the case?" He growled gesturing towards Scully. Skinner felt rage build up but before he could speak Scully stepped forward.

"Excuse me agent…" She looked at his name tag, "Brickston, if you have any concerns about my qualifications you can take them up with Agent Skinner. And that is Doctor Scully to you." She finished her chin held high and the look on her face making Skinner hope he is never on the other side of it.

"He's killen women just like you!" Agent Brickston exclaimed in disbelief. This time Mulder stepped in.

"Get the hell out. If you aren't going to help this investigation then get the hell out of this room." The two stood at a stare down until Skinner entered the scene.

"I will talk to you outside Agent Brickston." Skinner said as the large man snarled at Mulder and left the room.

That night Mulder, Scully, and Skinner set up in Mulder's room. Files were scattered along the floors and counter and Scully was curled up in a chair squinting at the photos in front of her. Mulder was cross legged on the floor, his elbows on the coffee table, glasses on, and face concentrated on the file in his hands. Skinner sat on the far end of the couch on his laptop rubbing his tired eyes. It was nearly 2:30 in the morning and Scully was exhausted. She closed her eyes for only a moment and was taken back to Antarctica.

They had her again. Were testing and violating her, hurting her. She watched as tubes were forced into her body. She suddenly saw herself on the autopsy table in place of the woman she had examined earlier that day. Only she wasn't dead. They were about to cut her open but she wasn't dead.

"Mulder where are you!" She yelled struggling against the hold of large hooded figure. He was going to kill her, Mulder wasn't going to get to her in time.

"Mulder!" She screamed waking herself from her nightmare. She was sitting straight up in her chair, file thrown across the floor and she was panting heavily. Mulder had his arm around her and Skinner was looking at her with a mix of concern and confusion.

"Sorry, must have been a bad dream." She mumbled pushing Mulder away and standing shakily to her feet. "Excuse me." She said as she opened the connecting door and went into her own room. She felt like she could die from embarrassment. She had been suffering from the occasional nightmare for years now but in the last month things had gotten progressively worse. She hadn't told Mulder about it. He had already been acting more over protective than usual with her ever since Antarctica and it was driving her crazy. It was one thing for him to find out but Skinner? Her face was still red as she splashed cool water on it. What must her boss think of her? Screaming Mulder's name in her sleep? She shook her head and sat wearily on the edge of the bed and heard a knock on her door.

"Scully its me, can I come in?" Mulder opened the door before she could respond making her feel a sudden wave of anger.

"I'm fine Mulder." She said meeting his eyes, challenging him to argue.

"How long has this been going on?" He asked ignoring her look and sitting down beside her.

"You can't sit here and tell me you don't have nightmares?" She said irritably not wanting to have this conversation with him. Some things she needed to keep to herself.

"Scully, I'm not denying it but I just didn't know you had them too." He said his voice low and filled with guilt.

"Not everything has to do with you!" She shouted unable to take the tone in his voice.

"Scully you were calling my name."

"I'm going to bed Mulder, please leave." She said getting up and crossing her arms defensively. He stood up and slammed the door on the way to his room. Scully sat back down on the bed and willed herself not to cry.

Mulder stomped back through his room and slipped on his running shoes.

"Mulder where the hell do you think you're going?" Skinner asked from the couch. Mulder had almost forgotten he was still there.

"I'm going for a run." Mulder said not looking at his boss.

"Mulder its almost 3 in the morning." Skinner said getting up and shoving files into his bag. Mulder ignored him and was out the door in a few seconds. Skinner sighed as he walked to his own room. He could hear the agents fight from between the thin walls and it left him with a bad feeling in his stomach. He'd never seen Scully as vulnerable as he did tonight, in the middle of a nightmare screaming for her partner. Obviously that was something she didn't want to admit. Not to Mulder, and certainly not to him.


	3. Chapter 3

**I wasn't planning the chapter to go this direction but the story kind of took over itself! Thank you for the reviews and please keep commenting so I know whether or not to continue writing this story!**

Scully decided when she woke up that she wasn't going to let Mulder see how upset she was about last night. She knew that they wouldn't talk about it, they never did. She sighed as she finished putting on her lipstick and grabbed her back. She opened the door right as Mulder had his hand up to knock.

"I found something." He said his eyes bright and anxious.

"What is it?" She asked as they started walking quickly down the hall. She studied his face. He had dark circles under his eyes and obviously neglected to shave the night before.

"All the victims were a part of the Southern Hills Country Club. I found the connection when looking through phone records."

"So do you think they knew each other?" Scully asked struggling to keep up with him.

"Not necessarily, there are hundreds of members, but there's a good chance our killer is a member."

At the morning meeting Mulder relayed the new information.

"I checked out the list of guests and there weren't any male members with red hair so either this guy is sneaking in or he doesn't have red hair like we thought."

"Well that sure narrows it down." Another agent scoffed.

"There's an event tonight and I think we should be there to check for any suspicious behavior." Mulder said pacing excitedly. If this lead works out he might not even have to get into this guys head.

"I think we should go under cover." Said Deputy Director Johnson.

"What do you suggest?" AD Skinner asked.

"We introduce a knew member to the Southern Hills Country Club." The Deputy said nodding towards Agent Scully.

Mulder was immediately shaking his head. "I don't see how that's necessary-" Mulder began before Scully cut him off.

"I actually think that is a good idea. All the women disappeared a few days after Country Club event so there shouldn't be much of a risk, and it might lure this guy out of the crowd." Scully said avidly not looking at Mulder.

"We will set you up with a mic and have officers stationed all around the premise." The Deputy agreed.

"I can't believe you're actually considering this." Mulder growled at the Deputy looking at Skinner for help. Skinner adverted his eyes and looked at Scully.

"I think its a good idea." Skinner said trying not to image the look of betrayal on Mulder's face. "It's a very low risk operation." Scully was nodding in agreement.

"Fine." Mulder said anger evident in his voice. "But I'm going with her." He stared around the room challenging anyone to argue with him.

"Mulder…" Scully started but Skinner cut her off.

"That might not be a bad idea. Mulder can be your escort. There hasn't been anything on the news about Mulder's involvement on this case so it should be safe." Skinner said and watched relief flow over Mulder's features.

"I'm still not happy about this." Mulder said as the meeting adjourned.

That evening Mulder, Skinner, and some other agents studied the premise of the venue. Guests had already started showing up and Mulder and Skinner were dressed in black tie suits pretending to be members.

"Scully should be here any minute." Skinner said taking a glass of wine and handing one to Mulder.

"Remember to keep a lookout for a redheaded male." Mulder said holding the wine glass but not sipping from it. "I just had a thought. What if this guy dyed his hair? Send a message, have everyone on the lookout for a male with a pale complexion and freckles." Mulder told Skinner excitedly. They were getting close he could tell.

Skinner relayed the message and scanned the room.

"This guy is sick, he most likely stalks his victims at these events and then…" Mulder suddenly went silent and sucked in a breath. Skinner looked up to see what caused the younger agents reaction and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

Agent Scully was walking towards them wearing a long form fitting black dress with a scooping neckline and hair pinned up in curls. The back was open and her lips were as red as her hair. Skinner always admired Mulder's ability to refrain from a sexual relationship with his partner, but also cursed him for it at the same time. If he was younger and not her boss…

"I didn't see anything suspicious on my way in." Scully started as she stood in front of Mulder and Skinner. Neither one of them said anything.

"Stop looking at me like that." She told Mulder feeling her face flush. His gaze was even more intense than usual and she suddenly wished for the security of her frumpy suits.

Skinner grunted awkwardly wishing he could be anywhere else in the world. The tension between the two agents was enough to make Skinner want to bolt from the room.

"You look nice." Mulder finally said breaking the silence.

"Thanks." Scully said looking at her feet.

"So we are going to walk around and chat to some of the regulars and see what we can find out about our killer." Mulder said putting a hand on her back and leading her towards the buffet, leaving Skinner to keep up surveillance

"The bacon wrapped shrimp is excellent." Mulder said as he walked up to the middle of the buffet table.

Scully raised an eyebrow at him as he held out a shrimp to her.

"You just cut in front of all those people Mulder." Scully said looking at the multiple glares being sent there way. Mulder shrugged as they walked to the table with their name tags on it. They had spent the day registering for the Country Club under the names Mrs and Mr Williams.

They sat down at their seats and shook hands with the couple next to them.

"Hi my name is Sarah." Said a woman with dark hair and a slender face as she eagerly shook Mulder's hand.

"William." Mulder said as the lady frowned and Scully bit her tongue.

"William Williams?" The lady asked unsure whether or not he was joking.

"I was the least favorite child." Mulder said with a wink. Scully kicked him under the table.

"Oh sorry how rude of me, this is my wife Julia." Mulder said putting an arm around Scully as she forced a smile and held out her hand.

"This is my husband Joshua." Sarah said as they shook hands with her husband, a burly man with bushy eyebrows.

"So what do you do for a living?" Joshua said sizing up Mulder.

"Oh I'm a farm owner." Mulder said flashing a charming smile. "The lady here watches over the lambs." Scully kicked Mulder's leg again harder this time. He gave her an over exaggerated smile and pinched her cheek. "Isn't that right honey bunch?"

Scully forced a smile at the couple which came out more like a grimace as she stood up. "Excuse me." She said walking quickly to the middle of the dance floor trying to control her emotions. She didn't know why Mulder's incessant teasing was bothering her so much. Ever since the incident in the hallways there had been another layer of tension between them. Of course like usual, they decided ignoring it was better than talking about it.

She surveyed the room keeping her eye out for anyone suspicious and caught a man staring at her. Her heart rate immediately accelerated. He was average sized with blond hair and a nice face. She couldn't tell from the lighting and distance if he had freckles or not. She moved around the room but still found him watching her.

"Julia, I was wondering where you ran off too." Came a low whisper in her ear. She jumped and turned around.

"Mulder someone's watching me." She said quietly grabbing his arm.

"Who?" Mulder said looking around. She tilted her head towards the man and after a few moments Mulder started laughing.

"What?" Scully asked feeling the anger build up again. She hated not knowing what was going on and now he was laughing at her?

"Scully, nearly every man in this room is looking at you." Mulder said causing Scully to blush. "I even saw Skinner take a peak."

"God Mulder!" Scully said covering her face with her hands trying to hide her red face. Mulder backed off feeling how uncomfortable she was.

"Well you can't blame him…"

"Mulder look!" Scully said suddenly pointing to a redheaded waiter from the other side of room. Mulder was off and running towards him and the next thing she knew the waiter had a gun out and pointed at him. Scully tried to fight her way through the crowd towards Mulder but felt someone grab her arm and then everything went dark. The last thing she heard was the sound of a gunshot.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Just want to let everyone know that there is going to be graphic images of violence and assault from here on out so read at your own risk! Please let me know if you want me to keep viewing. Also what's your favorite X-file episode? I have been rewatching the serious and am currently on season 4! Let me know in the comment section!**

Mulder watched in slow motion as the bullet exited the chamber of his SIG and entered into the chest of the scrawny redheaded man in front of him. He bolted towards the man as he collapsed to the floor next to the body. People were screaming all around him and he could hear a deep voice yelling to call an ambulance. Mulder reached down to check for a pulse and there wasn't one.

The man had fired a shot hitting a woman in the cross fire giving Mulder no choice but to shoot him down. He turned his head and looked around for his partner. Not seeing her immediately made him feel uneasy.

"Where's Scully?" He announced to a group of agents who all started looking around the room anxiously. A horrible thought passed through Mulder. It was a set up.

"Scully!" He screamed running through the large engraved doors and outside to the chilly evening wind. He ran around the building and into the parking garage. Nothing. She was gone.

The first thought through Scully's head when she regained consciousness was: cold. She forced her heavy eyelids open and noticed a funny taste in the back of her throat. She had been drugged. The events of the evening rushed back to her and she couldn't stop the feeling of overwhelming panic that threatened to take over her. You need to calm down, she told herself looking around the small concrete room. She was curled up in the corner with no restraints. They hadn't bothered to gag her which meant they were far enough away from civilization that her abductor wasn't worried about anyone hearing her. The thought made her heart drop.

The second thing she noticed was that she was naked. This didn't bother her as much as she suspected it was supposed too. She was used to desensitizing herself to nudeness. Of course she realized what the killer had planned based on the autopsy she performed, but she couldn't think about that now.

She knew Mulder would be frantically looking for her and the thought that he wouldn't stop until he found her gave her a small glimpse of hope. Please just come sooner rather than later she thought helplessly. She sat up rigidly as she heard the large metal door scrape against the concrete floor as it opened. A man over 6 feet tall with broad shoulders and messy blonde hair walked confidently into the room. He was stunningly attractive, but seemed to match the profile with age and race. She looked into his bright green eyes and immediately looked away. The evil she saw in them filled her with absolute terror.

"Agent Dana Scully. I am so glad that I finally get to meet you." He said with a grin that showed off his perfect white teeth.

"How do you know me?" Scully asked suddenly confused.

"I have been watching you and your partner for a very long time." He smiled walking close to her which caused her to push herself further against the wall.

"Oh Dana you won't be going anywhere any time soon." He said reaching out and stroking her cheek.

"What do you mean you have been watching us?" This did not fit the profile. They had it all wrong. It was a set up.

"I first met your partner Fox back in 1989. He was a young agent. Arrogant. He killed someone very close to me and after all these years, it's finally time for me to get my revenge." He said running a hand through her hair. She jolted her head away from him and he slapped her.

"Who did he kill?" Scully panted trying to keep him talking.

"I think that's enough talking for now." The man said standing up and pulling Scully to her feet. "We are going to do a little photo shoot for your partner. Has he ever seen you naked before Dana?" He whispered into her ear causing her to shiver with revulsion. He laughed then pulled a camera out from his coat.

"Say cheese." He said as he threw her hard against the concrete wall knocking the breath out of her. Scully stared at the camera but refused to look scared. She wouldn't give this man what he wanted. He snapped the photo then left the room, the metal door banging closed behind him.

Mulder had been pacing around the police department for the last thirty minutes desperately reviewing all the evidence they had. He didn't know where he had gone wrong. This guy obviously had an accomplice, but it seemed they were directly targeting Scully and him. Did they plan the whole scenario because they knew Mulder would eventually get put on the case? Was this someone that wanted revenge on Scully?

"Agent Mulder, this just came for you." Said a young secretary as she walked into the room startling Mulder from his internal discussion. He eyed the Manila envelope suspiciously and glanced around the room of officers. Skinner sat at the chair to his right and had just hung up the phone.

"Whose it from?" Skinner asked as Mulder examined the cursive writing along the front. All it said was Fox. With shaking hands Mulder opened the envelope and pulled out the photo. His heart started pumping furiously, all the blood in his body seemed to rush to his head. He staggered backwards not hearing but seeing Skinner's mouth move, shouting at him. Mulder collapsed into the chair behind him with his hands in his head. The image permanently burned in his brain.

Skinner forced the photo from Mulder's hands knowing it had to be bad based on the young agents reaction. Skinner sucked in a breath at the image. Scully stood completely nude against a concrete wall. Her hair messy and sticking slightly to her face. A bruise was beginning to form on her cheek bone and she was hunched over slightly as if in pain. Her eyes though held no fear, only determination. On the bottom of the photo in the same scrawled handwriting said "Can the Fox catch the Rabbet before it's to late?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Thanks for still reading and keeping in touch! I loved hearing about your favorite episodes and would love suggestions about what to start writing about next! Of course I will still keeping posting on this story as long as you want me too. :)**

"I'm going to kill him." Mulder said to Skinner, his voice venomously low. "I'm going to find him and I am going to kill him." Mulder's hands were clasped together and he was trembling.

"Agent Mulder you need to pull yourself together. I have every right to remove you from this case." Skinner said standing up roughly.

"You wouldn't do that." Mulder challenged meeting his eyes. "I'm the only one who could find her."

"Then get your shit together and find her." Skinner growled walking from the room.

Scully struggled to her feet upon hearing the door open again.

"Little Fox got your photo. I don't think he liked it very much." The man laughed staring intently at her body. Scully didn't know how long she had been there but her bladder was about to burst and she desperately needed water.

"I need water and to go to the bathroom." Scully announced unselfconsciously forcing herself to meet his gaze.

"Alright Dana but I hope you realize that everything I give to you comes with a price. Nothing is free in this world." He roughly grabbed her arm and pulled a gun to her head. "Don't try anything stupid." They walked a few steps down the concrete hall and he shoved her into a small bathroom watching her as she relieved herself. She then turned on the facet and drank heavily. After only a few seconds he grabbed her roughly and pulled her away.

"What's your name?" She asked as they walked down the hall.

"You can call me death. Now no more stalling it's time for payment." He said softly into her ear as he lead her back into the concrete cell. She waited anxiously as he left the room. She forced herself to think about the autopsies. She figured she had about 5 days until the rape started and knew that the torture got progressively worse. She couldn't just sit around and wait for Mulder to find her. If she was going to make it out of this then it would be up to her.

This time when Death returned he pulled out a camcorder.

"Why are you doing this?" Scully asked trying not to sound panicked.

"I've waited years to get payback for what your beloved partner did to my brother. I am going to make him suffer the way I did." He flipped the camera on and lit a cigarette. Scully knew what was coming.

"So you came up with this whole setup to lure us onto this case?" Scully said desperate to distract him or at least get some type of profile of him.

"No more of that now Dana." The man said his voice chilling the room. He grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her against the wall in front of the camera. Her side slammed hard against the concrete.

"I want you to scream his name Dana." The man said from behind the camera. Scully mutely shook her head. She wouldn't play his games, she wouldn't help him hurt Mulder. Scully could tell by the Death's eyes that he wasn't happy with her response. He pulled a dark mask over his face and joined Scully in front of the camera. He took a puff of his cigarette as he ran his hand from her cheek down to her breast squeezing it hard before holding the end of the cigarette down against her chest. Scully bit back a scream and tried to push away but he held her close. When he finally lifted it from her burned skin she gasped in relief.

"Scream his name." He said as he punched her hard against the side of the head causing her to drop to the ground. Scully moaned in agony as she struggled to sit up. I have to defend myself she though as she put her arms out protectively in front of her.

"I said scream his name!" The man shouted kicking her in the ribcage causing her to fly against the ground. Before she could try to stand he kicked her again in the same place and she could feel her rib crack. She screamed.

"Say it!" He yelled as he kicked her again. She felt like every bone in her body was breaking.

"Mulder!" She cried giving in from the pain, tears running down her cheeks and desperately trying to curl up into the fetal position. The man satisfied with her response walked out of the screen. "I'm sorry Mulder." She moaned softly before darkness once again took over.

Mulder's hands shook and his stomach threatened to betray him as he held the tap in his hands. It had been less than 24 hours and there was already another note. He hadn't gotten any closer to this guy. He had started going through old cases trying to find anyone who might want it out for them.

The only people in the video room were him and Skinner. Mulder had screamed at everyone else to get the hell out when he was delivered the tap. Written on it was To: Fox, Love:Dana.

"Mulder let me watch it first." Skinner said touching the agents shoulder softly.

Mulder vigorously shook his head. "No, she's my responsibly, he took her because of me." He put in the tape and Skinner felt the urge to look away. He watched in horror as the man touched Scully, violated her. How she refused to take the bait and was burned. He felt Mulder cringe beside him.

"She's trying to protect me." Mulder moaned, agony overtaking him. The man started kicking her and she screamed. Mulder jolted to his feet and kneeled down grabbing his head but still staring at the screen. When she finally cried out his name tears were streaming down his face. Her half conscious apology finished him off and he collapsed to the ground.

Skinner was kneeling over him trying to keep from screaming. He wanted to kill the bastard just as much as Mulder did.

"You will find him Mulder." Skinner said grabbing his arm tightly. "You have to."


End file.
